Switzerland or Turkey?

Late Winter is a tough time to go to Europe, as the weather has not begun to turn into Spring. That is especially true in the mountain areas of Switzerland and Northern Italy.

Instanbul is incredibly huge with 14 million people but it's not a place I'd want to go to right now due to political reasons. I would love to see the back roads of this country escorted by a private driver, however. We've been there once, and found the country to be completely modern on the west coast. There's so much more to see.
We often go to Europe the last few days of March--before the Spring airfares kick in. And weather's usually acceptable.

Sound like the proverbial "apples or oranges" question.

We were in Switzerland late February through early March of this year for a ski holiday. We spent our first three nights in Luzern (after flying into Zurich) that inadvertently coincided with Luzern Carnival. Weather was cool but mild and dry during our Luzern visit and Carnival was an wonderful experience seeing the normally reserve Swiss at play. Luzern weather statistics:

https://www.yr.no/place/Switzerland/Lucerne/Lucerne/statistics.html

Check the weather charts for Istanbul. February is 37 to 46. My rule of thumb is in the winter, go where the cold is celebrated, not just endured. That would mean Switzerland.

Wayne,

I haven't been to Turkey but would absolutely recommend Switzerland, as long as you don't mind travelling at a "cooler" time of year, and as long as you can afford it. Is there a specific reason you want to visit Milan?

I'm a bit reluctant to go to Turkey at the present time due to the ongoing security threats there. Be sure to check the current information provided by the State department - https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html

Thanks for your input, Ken. I'm aware of the travel warning to Turkey right now. I'm not really concerned about it, the way I see it... things can happen anywhere and I'm not going to let someone else stop me from seeing the world.

I don't mind cooler temperatures. I'd like to go to Milan for one day. I want to see The Last Supper. I went to Italy earlier this year and missed out on Milan. Where have you been in Switzerland?

Big shoutout for Istanbul and Turkey. I've been there three times (two independent trips as a solo traveler and once during the RS Village Turkey tour) and highly recommend it (in spite of the State Department travel warnings, which I ignored). There is plenty to do indoors in Istanbul even if the weather is wretched. I spent over two weeks in Istanbul alone, with a side trip to the Princes Islands to the south. It's a fascinating city and visual and sensory overload, definitely one of my favorite cities. Although I can't compare with Switzerland, one striking difference is value for your money. Turkey is one of the highest value places I've been to - you can travel well for not a whole lot of money (the opposite of Switzerland). Turkish Air is a great airline as well, and the costs for flying into Istanbul are very low.

I have been to both Lucerne and Istanbul. Istanbul definitely better-exotic but still European.

Switzerland in winter is great! We went to the Lauterbrunnen Valley one winter and enjoyed not only the scenery but the opportunity to do Winter Wandern (snow hiking). They groom many trails and all you need are a pair of decent winter athletic shoes (Gortex is good) and you can take the trails so many take in summer.

Outdoors, hiking, mountain vistas - that's what Switzerland says to me . . . and expensive. Is there much to see in the cities? Is there much to do in the evenings?

Fascinating, lots of sights, millennia of history, wonderful mix of East and West. Bargain prices. Good food too.

Wayne,

"Where have you been in Switzerland?"

I've been all over Switzerland - western part (Lausanne, etc.), central part (Bern, Zürich, Berner Oberland), eastern part (Appenzell, Chur) and Italian part ( Locarno, Lugano). As with many here, my favourite is the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen Valley).

" I'm aware of the travel warning to Turkey right now. I'm not really concerned about it, the way I see it... things can happen anywhere and I'm not going to let someone else stop me from seeing the world."

Fair enough. I have to be a bit more careful with government travel warnings. If I travel to an area that the government advises against, my medical insurance is void. Having had to use medical insurance on my last trip, I'm acutely aware of things like that.

I'm not currently allowed to go to Turkey which is a huge bummer because everyone I know who has been to Istanbul completely adored it. I've never heard a bad thing about traveling there. But personally getting a waiver to travel there is too difficult at the moment. This says nothing about Istanbul's safety - active duty Marines are currently prohibited from the center of Paris, which is insane - sometimes those State Dept warnings are good, sometimes they're stupid. Traveling near the Syrian border is a bad idea but Istanbul is fine. It's also significantly cheaper than Switzerland.

If you're a skiier I see the draw of Switzerland in February but if you're not, I don't. Also if you don't like spending a ton of money. This is high season because of the ski resorts. I don't see a reason to travel to Swizterland in that season if you're not one of them.

Choose switzerland blindly. You will never repent your decision.

Istanbul is a very historical city and we loved it. Not sure Turkey is as safe as it was in 2014 when we visited. I suggest checking with US State Department or your country's comparable offices for bulletins.

Switzerland is wonderful, very scenic and with considerable history for sightseeing. It is also one of the most expensive countries in Europe, right up there with the Scandinavian countries.

Turkey is far more reasonable, if budget is a key.

If you are planning a trip in late February, you must deal with the Winter weather in the Alps. There will be many people skiing in February and in some cites, hotels may be full. Also, if you plan to rent a car, you may need chains for your tires, to in case of heavy snow.

I personally would stay away from Switzerland in the Winter months. However, not sure that I would go to Istanbul today. I suppose that I might go, if I had never been there, It was on my bucket list. The risk of a terrorist attack is elevated, since as in Egypt the terrorists are targeting tourists. Still, many people are going to those countries anyway. The risk of attack is higher, but still the probability of an attack on you is still not huge (just my opinion).

If you are planning a trip in late February, you must deal with the Winter weather in the Alps. There will be many people skiing in February and in some cites, hotels may be full. Also, if you plan to rent a car, you may need chains for your tires, to in case of heavy snow.

We visited late February through early March (2 weeks). Elevation makes the difference between snow and no snow. Big population areas (e.g. Luzern) are in the lower elevations that are warmer and more likely to be snow free than the higher elevation mountain resorts (e.g. Davos).

We didn't need tire chains because the train service took care of our transportation needs. No rental car needed.

We enjoyed Switzerland because of the snow (Davos/Klosters) and personal bias being that snowscapes are good photo ops.

While the higher elevation mountain resort villages do thankfully have snow, the local authorities are diligent at snow (and ice) removal. Sidewalks are shoveled and swept and roadways plowed. The villages use small rotary plows that deposit snow in dump trucks and not just pushed to the side. We had our shoe chains but didn't really need them.

I was in Switzerland in September 2014, and will be going back in September 2017. I was in Istanbul in October 2012. Both were fabulous. However to quote Chani from another thread, this is not like comparing apples and oranges, it's comparing apples and bicycles.

So, go to whichever one strikes you fancy. As long as you're prepared for the winter experience (which will be very different from mine - especially in Switzerland) and prepared for Swiss prices (indeed as high as you've heard, particularly for restaurants), you should have a great time in either place.

Like Sarah (but for different reasons), I get lots of State Dept. warnings (advisories?) here. They are mostly useless, often CYA. I suspect their restrictions on travel for U.S. govt personnel (as opposed to advice to U.S. citizens) is often a liability issue.

Hi Sarah - I do feel for you. I loved Turkey and have often thought about going back for a few days since it's close and cheap but I keep finding other places to go to first :-)